Contents of the DUMPY.DOC file

This share-ware utility package contains three programs SDUMP.COM, SDMONO.COM and DISPLAY.EXE. They provide a very simple means to capture screens from a running program and later replay those screens in slideshow fashion. This may be handy for quick demonstrations, where more complicated slide show programs are "too much".

The program: SDUMP.COM (or SDMONO.COM for monochrome displays), allows you to capture screen images from other programs, save them in separate files, and later display them with DISPLAY.EXE.

SDUMP is a Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program. When you run it from the DOS command line, it will announce its presence and quietly sink into the background and wait to be called into action (when its "hot key" is pressed). When you run SDUMP, you must provide it with the location and starting file name to use to store the screen images it captures. For example, you might start SDUMP with this command:

SDUMP C:\SCREENS\SCREENA.DMP

or, if you have a monochrome or Hercules display:

SDMONO C:\SCREENS\SCREENA.DMP

Now SDUMP will store its screens in the SCREENS sub-directory. The first screen it saves will be called SCREENA.DMP, the second will be called SCREENB.DMP. Each subsequent .DMP file will increment the character in the filename just before the extension. These files are binary data files (a simple dump the the CGA screen buffer) and cannot be printed or "typed" on the console.

To activate SDUMP and save the current screen to a .IMG file, you press the [Alt + left Shift] keys together. You will hear a beep when SDUMP is called. Three beeps means it successfully wrote a file to the specified directory. Only one beep means it was unable to create the file (could not find the directory?). Only two beeps means it created the file, but could not write the full 4k screen buffer, (disk full?).

Like any other TSR, SDUMP may have compatibility problems with other software, especially other TSR's. If you have trouble, try installing SDUMP by itself and adding your other TSR utilities one at a time after you get SDUMP to work.

DISPLAY.EXE -----------

Once you have saved several screen dumps with SDUMP.COM, you can re- display them in sequence with DISPLAY.EXE. This program takes one or more command line arguments. Each argument represents file specifications. Each file specification follows the standard DOS format and wildcards are allowed. For example the following methods to start DISPLAY.EXE are all valid:

DISPLAY \SCRNS1\*.* \SCRNS2\*.DMP -- shows all screens in sub-directory \SCRNS1 and all screens in \SCRNS2 that have a DMP extension.

DISPLAY shows a screen, waits for you to press the Enter key, then (if there are more files that match the wildcard) shows the next screen.

Monochrome Display: -------------------

If you have a Monochrome display adapter or Hercules, you must use the SDMONO.COM screen dump program. Also, when you run DISPLAY.EXE, you must provide an additional command line argument: "-M" to tell it to used the monochrome display. For instance, the third example given above would be entered:

DISPLAY -M \SCRNS1\*.* \SCRNS2\*.DMP

ShareWare: ----------

The DUMPY package is being distributed as shareware. This means that it is not free. This means that you must pay to use it. However, you do not have to pay to try it, test it, and to determine if it is going to be useful to you. You are probably familiar with the concept by now. ShareWare programs give you the advantage of "test driving" them. The advantage to the developer is a relatively inexpensive

distribution method. For this concept to work and keep working for our mutual advantage, you really must register and pay for the software you actually find useful.

To register your use of DUMPY, send $20.00 to Natural Software at the address above. We will send you a description of our other software offerings and provide telephone support.

If you have suggestions for improvement, or problems please write or call.